IT force in Customs: Efforts to carry out key tasks

	In 2017: Customs sector successfully completed many tasks assigned
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Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department supports Customs officers of Hai Phong Customs Department. Photo: Thai Binh.

Positive from early spring

Excluding those who are involved in running IT system for Customs clearance, available 24/7, including holidays and Lunar New Year's Day, it is extremely difficult to set up an appointment to exchange information with the leaders or representatives of the IT and Customs Statistics Department. In fact, after Tet holiday, the staff of the unit have had to roll up a lot of professional work.

The leader of the Office of Management and Operation of the National Single Window (NSW), the ASEAN Single Window (IT and Customs Statistics Department) said that in the first days of the year, the unit has actively developed as planned. It is noteworthy that the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue- Head of the Steering Committee of the ASEAN Single Window, NSW and Trade Facilitation, at the third session of the Committee (January 2018) was issued. Accordingly, in 2018, the Committee aims to implement 130 administrative procedures in line with the plan set out in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 2185 / QĐ-TTg dated 14 November 2016. At the same time, Customs force shall continue to review and add new procedures to the Plan.

In order to achieve this goal by the end of 2018, relevant ministries must implement more than 100 new procedures in the NSW system. This is not a small challenge. In fact, since the implementation (2015), 47 new administrative procedures were connected. And for the Standing Committee of the Steering Committee, the tasks for the General Department of Vietnam Customs and IT and Customs Statistics Department are really heavy.

"Following the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, from the first working days after the Lunar New Year, the Department held several meetings with relevant units of ministries to expand NSW and exchange official information on C / O Form D through the ASEAN Single Window", said the Head of Management and Operation Office of the National Single Window and ASEAN Single Window.

Another important area which has been carried out by the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department in early spring, is actively coordinating with the local Customs department to expand the system of Customs management automatically. On 1 March 2017, the system was expanded to the new area in Phuoc Long ICD (HCM City).

In addition, the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department is trying to expand the level of online public service to Level 3 for 42 procedures. As a result, the number of administrative procedures in the Customs sector to be provided with a minimum level of 3 shall increase to 168 out of 178 procedures, equivalent to 94%.

"Although the rate is only 94%, the fact is that almost all the administrative procedures are frequently exchanged among enterprises, people and Customs officers", said the Director of the Customs Information Portal (the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department).

The Head of the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department also noted the effort of cadres and civil servants. In the context of implementation of the general policy to provide timely and transparent information for people and businesses, immediately after the Lunar New Year, Customs forces have promptly released a lot of important information on the import and export activities of the whole country in the early days of 2018 and in the Lunar New Year, on information for the import and export of itemsof public interest such as automobile imports (early February 2018).

It can be said that apart from the above-mentioned tasks, other fields of work of the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department have been actively launched since early 2018 in line with the guiding spirit of the Government, the Prime Minister and leaders of the Ministry of Finance.

Technology goes ahead

The Deputy Director of the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department, Mr. Le Duc Thanh said that in addition to the regular labour work, from the beginning of 2018, Customs forces built the solution for IT in line with new regulations for the reformation and additional supplementation contained in 08/2015 / NĐ-CP and 38/2015 / TT-BTC.

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To help the business community, local Customs units will actively grasp and implement key tasks when the new regulations are issued and come into effect, because most of the professional activities of the Customs are based on IT applications. On the other hand, the process of drafting decrees and circulars from the Information Technology and Customs Statistics Department has also been fully accessible and fully revised, especially the core contents which are amended and added for appropriate IT solutions.